I am an emeritus professor from Cornell University and was a Commissioned Lay Preacher in the Presbyterian Church (USA). For many years I have followed the Daily Lectionary as printed in the Mission Yearbook of my church. For each day of a two-year cycle, the lectionary lists four psalms and three other scriptural passages--usually one from the Old Testament and two from the New Testament. My practice is to copy down a verse or two from one of the psalms and from each of the other three passages. After I have written out all four selections, I reflect upon them, rearrange their order, and incorporate them into a meditation. Sometimes I retain much of the original wording; sometimes all that remains of a selection is an idea that was stimulated when I read the original words. All selections are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible. For the Daily Lectionary, see the link below.

Full of Deadly Poison--Nov. 16, 2010

I call to you, O God;
I have heard of your renown;
I stand in awe of your work.

Do not be silent to me,
lest I go down to the Pit;
for I cannot tame my tongue.

It is a restless evil,
full of deadly poison,
making others stumble.

So do not be silent to me
or refuse to hear me,
but teach me when to be silent.

Lectionary Readings
Psalms 54, 146, 28, 99
Habakkuk 3:1-18
James 1:1-12
Luke 17:1-10

Selected verses
Psalms 28:1
To you, O LORD, I call;
      my rock, do not refuse to hear me,
for if you are silent to me,
      I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.

Habakkuk 3:2a
O LORD, I have heard of your renown,
      and I stand in awe, O LORD, of your work.

James 1:8
… but no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

Luke 17:1
Jesus said to his disciples, “Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to anyone by whom they come! … ”
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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